


Afterwards

by imgilmoregirl



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: F/F, F/M, M/M, One Shot, Tumblr Prompt
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-28
Updated: 2018-05-28
Packaged: 2019-05-15 03:03:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,318
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14782425
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/imgilmoregirl/pseuds/imgilmoregirl
Summary: After Rumple's funeral, Gideon and the others have a moment.





	Afterwards

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: I don’t own Once Upon A Time or any of the characters and storylines in the show. This is just a fanwork made for fun.
> 
> This is a follow-up to Legacy, so if you haven't checked it out, you can take a look at it later.
> 
> TheStoryWeLoveBest prompted on tumbr: can you write about their trip, maybe with Robin too, and them talking about Belle, about the trips the family did, maybe even Robin remembering them, and Alice telling Gideon about the time she spend with Rumple, and the three of them in that beautiful home Belle and Rumple built...

There was a weird, but somewhat comfortable silence in Rumple and Belle’s house at the Edge of Realms. They had just buried the very last Dark One this world would know beside his beloved wife and Gideon urged the others in, although Regina had insisted in taking Henry and Rogers to take a look around.

It was a bittersweet feeling for him to be back in a place so full of good memories. Gideon had many homes while growing up, lived in many small villages and many big castles, but he thought that this one had a special meaning for his parents, because it was there that they finally had some earned peace. He remembered leaving the Academy on Friday nights and coming back just hours later after what seemed to have been a whole week away.

The good thing about time running different in there was that Gideon could spend a lot more time with his parents than it would be given him if the time passed at the same rhythm in both realms. He had always enjoyed coming over, hearing his mother read aloud to him as if he was still a child, sitting by the spinning wheel with his father or just simply helping them to reach things in tall shelves. Gideon smiled to himself, a sad smile, melancholic mostly as he put some water to boil.

"Tea?" He asked to Robin and Roderick, who were sat by the small four-seat dining table.

"I will accept," the blonde girl said, adjusting her glasses on her nose.

Nodding, Gideon separated four cups and took a look around, trying to find he other girl that should be there, until he found her standing in front of the spinning wheel, running a gentle finger through it, eyes seeming to be full of tears. He left the kitchen, walking towards her and laying a hand on her shoulder, making the girl jump, startled, before looking back to see him and she relaxed.

"He always spun a lot... I once asked him why, he told it helped him to remember," Alice said, as if justifying herself. "Guess he was talking about you, your mother and your brother."

Gideon sighed, knowing that she was right. The image of his father as an imp, spinning madly in the middle of the woods, whispering nonsense about their family, crossing his mind. Even at his darkest, Rumplestiltskin couldn’t stop thinking about them, that was the extent of his love.

"Yeah, guess so. My father has always been very attached to our family," Gideon told her. "Baelfire died before I was born, but my parents always told me all the stories about him. Papa loved us with all of his heart."

"My mom had a crush on him," Robin interfered from where she was, still sat by the table.

Glancing up at her, Gideon saw that the water had boiled and Roderick was already serving the tea, but it was barely a detail in his mind, because he could only concentrate in what Robin had said.

"What?"

"Sorry, bad timing," she mumbled, grimacing. "If it makes you feel better, she always said that your mom was the best nanny I've ever had."

Gideon arched an eyebrow at her as he and Alice came back to the table, taking the teacups Roderick was offering them. He didn’t quite remember most people from Storybrooke, although he had seen pictures of them, but he knew that if he had grown-up there he would have grown with Robin, Neal and all those other people.

Maybe life in Storybrooke could have been nice, he thought as he shared a laugh with that girl whose mother had a weird crush on his father. Maybe if they had stayed there, his parents could still be alive. Gideon shook his head for himself, feeling Roderick’s hand on his knee, still showing him the comfort he needed. _No_ , the life they had was perfect and Gideon wouldn’t change it for nothing and he bet neither would his parents.

"He had a book full of pictures, it is in his apartment if you want me to get it for you later," Alice started, slowly, almost hesitantly. "I looked at the pictures in it many times, wishing for a life like that, life with love and adventure."

"It's my mother's travel book, she said once that papa gave it to her during my first birthday party," Gideon answered, tracing down the border of his teacup. "She always carried it around and I helped her filling some spaces with our favourite quotes of the books we were reading at the time we took the pictures.”

“Well, he carried it around when we met. He took care of me for ten years or so, I owe him a lot…” Alice trailed off, sipping her tea.

Rumple’s letters talked a lot about her. Before the darkness overtook him, he used to tell Gideon about how nice it was to not be as lonely as he thought he would be after going away on his journey to find the Guardian. Gideon could remember the desperate tone his words seemed to have when he wrote to him about his suspects of Alice being the Guardian herself. He would never want to pass his burden to a kid, even more when he cared so dearly for her.

“I don’t think you do. Papa never expected anything from anyone and if you gave him a good friendship to rely on, it was more than enough.”

A smile crossed Alice’s lips as her unquiet eyes darted around the house, stopping occasionally in the few pictures displayed on the shelves or the books his mother kept in the most beautiful glassware

“He used to say that I reminded him a lot of his Belle. I think we were both curious and joyful,” she told him. “ _A daily challenge_ , he used to say. Rumplestiltskin brought me strawberries every day, detective Weaver bought me orange marmalade sandwiches and gave me a shelter in my bad days. You were lucky to have him as your father.”

“Yeah, he was always the best I could expect.”

“I would like to have known him,” Roderick interrupted, brushing his dark hair away from his face with a distant look before adding: “Both your parents.”

“I would have liked that too, Rod,” Gideon guaranteed, kissing the top of his head.

On the other end of the table, Alice moved her shoulders uncomfortably, inclining herself forward as she folded her hands around the teacup. Robin glanced back at her as if expecting something marvellous to happen, but all that the shorter girl did was to continue speaking, the sweetest smile overtaking her lips.

“He was sweet, although he tried to seem tough most of the time. He was funny also,” she said, laughing a bit. “He used to say _‘Alice, don’t let anything hold you, you can take the word if you want to, but never forget what really matters’._ It was a good advice.”

“Yeah, it was,” Roderick agreed.

“Papa was a wise man,” Gideon remarked. “Mama taught him how to be good and he became the best man I’ve ever known.”

“I think that they are together now,” she betted and Gideon couldn’t help but believe her words. “It’s True Love after all and no matter what happens, True Love is eternal and it always finds its way back.”

Reaching for Roderick’s hand, he nodded, watching as Alice laid her head on Robin’s shoulder. Somewhere, far away from their reach, Rumplestiltskin and Belle were probably making up for the lost time, sharing a good laugh with Baelfire and meeting up with all their passed friends and family. But in that moment, at the Edge of Realms, the place that once was their home, two young couples wondered about the greatness of life and silent promised to honour those who were gone.

**Author's Note:**

> I'm sorry for any writing mistakes, English is not my first language.  
> Share your thoughts about this fic with me, if you want to.


End file.
